Jeremy Haloskie, the first customer Friday at Cure Dispensary in Manheim Township, said he drove two and a half hours from his home in the Poconos to get medical marijuana for his 5-year-old daughter, who has autism.
“She struggles verbally and has behaviors known as autistic meltdowns; we’re hoping that medical marijuana will help those,” he said. “I waited six hours in the dispensary in Bethlehem and they ran out of product.”
He encountered no such lack at Cure Dispensary, which started offering appointments Wednesday but held a grand opening celebration Friday before beginning to accept walk-in customers at 10 a.m.
Cure, which is located in the corner of the former Kmart plaza along Fruitville Pike in Manheim Township, is the only dispensary authorized in Lancaster County. Only a handful of other dispensaries have opened across the state so far. They encountered such strong demand that a few, like the one in Bethlehem, have had to close their doors temporarily until more product is available.
There was no line at Cure Pennsylvania Friday, but a couple of customers arrived within several minutes of the opening.
Madilyn Boyer, 63, of Lititz, is still waiting for her medical marijuana ID card from the state to arrive, so she couldn’t buy anything, but came because “I wanted to be part of this grand opening.”
She said she has breast cancer and hopes that in conjunction to the other medication she’s using, medical marijuana can help control the nausea she has after chemotherapy.
Boyer did not have a problem finding a doctor and getting the recommendation needed to qualify for the medical marijuana, she said, and she’s glad to have a dispensary so close.
